1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable fuel composition which has a high degree of calorific value, particularly to a fuel composition which is convenient for carrying and which has a high degree of calorific value and which comprises combustible polymer, organic solvent and fiber material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Up to now, canned alcoholic solid fuels and alcoholic jellied fuels in bags have been sold as portable fuels. Further, a jellied or creamy fuel containing alcohols as the principal ingredient and packed in tubes has been sold under the name of Gerunen by DAIKENTOP, a Japanese company. However, said alcoholic fuels have disadvantageously low calorific values of only about 4,500 kcal/kg.
As an improved alcoholic fuel with increased calorific value, there is known a product in tubes sold under the name of META by LONZA Ltd., a Swiss Company which is prepared by adding ethylene or the like to the alcoholic fuels. However, the calorific value of META is still only about 6,000 kcal/kg, which cannot be said to be a great improvement over the conventional alcoholic fuels.
On the other hand, waste polymers, such as still residue, waste and the like, are generally by-products of processes for preparing or molding polymers. Up to now these waste polymers have been disposed of by incineration or burying.
Further, atactic polypropylene (hereinafter referred to as APP) is obtained as a by-product in processes for preparing polypropylene (hereinafter referred to as PP) which is a general-purpose resin. The amount of APP produced as a by-product varies depending upon the kind of production process used and the operating conditions but its presence in PP is tolerable up to about 5-10% of the amount of PP produced. However, APP is amorphous and lowers the properties of PP resin products. Therefore, it is better for it not to be contained in the final products and so it is generally separated from the PP after polymerization of propylene.
Therefore, the appearance of new methods of applying waste polymers, such as APP and the like, has been sought from the standpoint of effective utilization of resources and prevention of environmental pollution.
Further, in the technical field of portable fuels, a solid fuel which is obtained by mixing, kneading and compression molding APP and bark in the ratio of 1:3 has been proposed on Mokuzai Kogyo, vol. 36, No. 5. However, no such fuel has yet been put to practical use.